Neuroscience

amygdala

activates fear response

antagonist

chemical outside the body that shuts off receptors

association cortex

merges information from visual and auditory cortex, neocortex

astrocytes

glial cells that get nutrients to the neurons and maintain the electrochemical gradient

autonomic

controls automatic body functions, subset of the peripheral nervous system

basal ganglia

learn movement and coordination, near base of the brain

Broca's area

responsible for speech

cerebellum

coordinates movement and solves problem, behind brainstem

cerebrum

largest part of brain, anterior portion

cingulate gyrus

becomes active when we experience unpleasant things

contralateral

opposite side of body

diffusion tensor imaging

uses MRI scan that allow white matter to be seen on the scan

dorsal striatum

consists of caudate and putamen, apart of the basal ganglia, coordinates movement

endogens

produced by the body

fusiform gyrus

responsible for facial recognition

ganglia

group of neurons and glial cells grouped together to preform a certain function

globus pallidus

inhibits circuits to the thalamus to control how sensory movement is coordinated into movement, part of the basal ganglia

glutamate

excites neurons

hippocampus

forming new memories

hypothalamus

produces hormones

ipsilateral

same side of the body

lesion

area of the brain where neurons died

limbic system

regulates emotions, endocrine system, and forming emotional memories, works on instincts

medulla

regulates life functions, close to spinal cord

microglia

clean debris and remove germs, glial cells

neocortex

outer part of brain that processes high-level information, has gyri and sulci

nuclei

network of neurons and glia grouped together to preform a certain function

olfactory cortex

process smell, bottom part of the temporal lobe

oligodendrocytes

glial cells that wrap myelin around CNS

parasympathetic

rest, digest, repair, subset of autonomic ns

agonist

chemicals from outside the body that enhance, mimic, or block neurotransmitter actions

pons

regulate sleep, awareness and motor function, located in brain stem/myelencephalon

prefrontal cortex

decision making

primary auditory cortex

process messages from the ear via the vestibulocochlear nerve, temporal lobe

reticular activating system

pons and medulla regulate awareness and alterness

schwann cells

glial sells that wrap myelin around PNS

somatic

controls movement via skeletal muscles, subset of pns

substantia nigra

send inhibitory signals to thalamus to coordinate sensory information with motor plans, basal ganglia

sympathetic

fight, flight, freeze, fuck

ventral stratum

coordinates movement, consists of substantia nigra, subthalamic nucleus, and part of the basal ganglia

Wernicke's area

necessary for processing and understanding language

accommodation

lens changes shape to bring object into focus on the retina

basilar membrane

tissue inside cochlea where hair cells are located

binaural cues

auditory clues that require comparison in both ears to understand location of an object

binocular depth cues

require that the image falls on both eyes to understand how far it is

bottom up processing

physical message is delivered to the senses

capgras syndrome

belief a person as been replaced with an imposter

chemoreceptor

response to specific air molecules, interpret smell and taste, found in nose

cochlea

snail-shaped inner ear where hair cells are located

complex cells

respond to motion, located in the visual strait cortex

congenital analgesia

condition where you cannot experience pain

cornea

covers eye, responsible for 80% of focusing visual images

diffuse bipolar cells

receives signal from rods, send signal to large ganglion cells

dorsal stream

takes information from occipital lobe to parietal lobe to we can identify an objects location

feature detectors

cells in visual cortex that respond to specific stimuli

fovea

portion of the retina directly behind the pupil that has a high concentration of cones

fregoli delusion

belief that an unknown person is a familiar person in disguise

frequency theory

understand pitch due to rate of cellular firing in the basilar membrane

gate control theory of pain

painful stimuli is blocked by the spinal cord when you engage in other activities

principle of closure

we perceive objects as whole even when parts are missing

principle of common fate

objects that move together are grouped together

principle of good continuation

when lines cross each other we perceive them as continuous

principle of proximity

objects close together are grouped together

principle of similarity

objects that are similar are grouped together

auditory hair cells

sensory neurons in the eat that convert soundwaves into neural firing

vestibular hair cells

sensory neurons in vestibular sacs that converts information of gravity into neural firing

interaural level difference

compares intensity of difference sounds that arrive at each ear to understand location

interaural time difference

compares small differences in arrival times of sound in each ear

involuntary musical imagery

inability to dislodge a song from one's conscious

kinesthetic sense

how we sense our bodies in space

large ganglion cells

receive information from diffuse bipolar cells, turns into optic nerve when leaving the eye

lateral geniculate nucleus

six layered portion of the thalamus that processes visual information

lens

flexible tissue that focuses light on the retina

long wavelength cones

respond to red light

mechanoreceptors

respond to pressure on skin

medial geniculate nucleus

portion of the thalamus that organizes auditory information before sending it to the auditory cortex

medium wavelength cones

respond to green/yellow light

midget bipolar cells

receive signals from cones and send messages to small ganglion cells

monocular depth cues

require one eye to understand, information about depth and distance

olfactory mucosa

tissue containing chemoreceptors in the nose

olfactory receptor neurons

respond the specific odorant

optic chiasma

where optic nerve crosses before reaching the thalamus

orbitofrontal cortex

analyses both taste and smell

ossicles

three small bones in the eat that amplify vibrations at the eardrum and transmit those signals to the oval window of the cochlea

papillae

bumps on tongue where tastebuds are located

pinna

external part of the ear

place theory

understands pitch due to location firing in the basilar membrane

psychophysics

attempts to understand the way physical sensations are translated into perceptions

prosopagnosia

inability to recognize faces

retinal disparity

difference between images that fell on each eye, used to figure out distance between us and the object

retinotopic organization

spatial organization of the retinal image maintained through the visual pathway

semicircular canal

sense change in acceleration and rotation of the head, inner ear

simple cells

response to lines in a specific orientation, found in the visual striate cortex

small ganglion cells

receives signals from midget bipolar cells, turns into optic nerve

somatosensory cortex

processes touch and motion, parietal lobe

thermoreceptor

detect changes in temperature on the skin

tonotopic organization

spatial organization of the basilar membrane maintained through the auditory pathway

top down processing

integrates one's beliefs and memories into their sensory experience

transduction

external sensations are converted into neural firing

trichromatic theory

colour information is identified by comparing activities of difference cones